Compassion Fatigue: Can Nurses Live Happily Ever After?

With all the stresses and demands of their jobs, can oncology nurses live happily ever after? Yes, according to Jennifer Kenderski, BSN, RN, OCN, who presented a poster on building resiliency to compassion fatigue at the 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing in Atlanta.

Kenderski, a radiation oncology clinical nurse at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, Ohio State University Medical Center, Columbus, has the unique perspective of an oncology nurse who herself has been an oncology patient. "I thought I was a good nurse before I had cancer, but after going through cancer, you feel more connected to your patients," she said.

Although she calls oncology nursing "the most fulfilling job I have ever had," she realized that the realities of working with very sick patients and their families can take a toll on nurses and lead to compassion fatigue, which she defines as "physical, emotional, and spiritual fatigue that develops over time and takes over a person, causing a decline in the ability to experience joy or to care for others." Sometimes, she says, nurses are not prepared to face the challenges and emotional tolls when they find that the reality of nursing does not measure up to the ideals they had while in school. She maintains that by learning and using strategies to transcend compassion fatigue, it is possible for nurses to have a happy professional and personal life and has developed steps for building resiliency (Sidebar).

"Self-help is the most important thing in this field so that you don't get angry and resentful and don't carry all that hurt inside yourself," she advised. She says continuing education is important to learn to set boundaries and not get overly involved with patients' lives. "Journaling is helpful because you are able to go back and reflect on the things that you did that day, what brought you joy today, what brought you sadness. That helps relieve stress," she says.